Dead Center
by MaroonNightfury31
Summary: What do you do when your stuck on the top of a burning hotel, standing with three people you could easily live without? You get out of there. With or without them.
1. Hotel

**While playing Dead Center, I came up with this. Nick is stuck with three people he doesn't like. But I guess he will have to live with it.**

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><p>Dead Center.<p>

This was _not_ happening.

"Hey! Come back! Come back!" The fat man yelled, as if the pilot would hear him over the loud reeling of the chopper blades 70 feet away. The woman nearly threw her gun at it, then though about what we had to fight through just to get up those damn stairs.

The boy was already looking at the pile of useless crap on that old metal table. We didn't need guns or health, we needed a way out of here. Sadly our way out of here left faster then the fat mans voice could carry through the air. But what the hell? Might as well grab something for the trip down...

The Redneck grinned at me as I moved past him, frowning just slightly when he saw that I wasn't going to return the happiness. He had enough for the four of us, I don't know why I was required to return it, so I won't.

"Okay, well, I don't like fire, I hate hotels, and I don't like navigating through them. So the faster we go the faster we leave." I pushed past the small woman as she scoffed and looked back at the fading helicopter. I began my decent of the stairs as the smell of sulfur made my nose tingle. The Hick followed with a youthful pace, almost making me wish I wasn't 35, these stairs wouldn't be so damn difficult.

He nearly bumped into me with his hast, pulling his hat a little tighter to his head. "Slow down kid sheesh". I walked a little slower, blocking the stair case like a car trying to block both lanes. The Hick tried to slow down, but his big clumsy feet pushed him forward, right into me. We both fell a good five feet.

"Jesus kid, where not racing!" I jabbed him in the arm with the muzzle of my pistol, which in retrospect wasn't real smart unless my intention was to blow his arm off. The woman rolled her eyes and pushed past us both, followed by the man. I didn't care though. If those _things _were still down there, I didn't want to open the blue door anyway.

The kid grew rigid as I briskly brushed him off and followed his "friends". He hadn't talked in nearly an hour, mostly due to me snapping at him on the way up here. I must have scared him or something, because he seemed to be try to get to my good side. Fat chance kid.

The woman looked at me quickly, looking for the OK to open the door, then shifted her eyes to the fat man, as if my opinion didn't matter. The man nodded and she heaved the door open, jumping back as if the door handle was suddenly going to bite her. Which it may have if one of those monsters was at the end of it. The first few came hurdling at us like a hungry dog after its dinner. The fat man shot the first one, setting the mood for the rest, since they had all heard the shot. The kid stood idly by until he had a clear spot next to me. Didn't want to get shot I guess.

"Watch where your walking Overalls." I huffed as two...hell, _zombies _fell before the door. I didn't say it nicely, but I didn't yell, which was enough for him to lighten up a bit. The fat man gave me a quick look over, then led the way through the hall.

"The buildin's comin' down quick. Our best chance is to get to duh bottom floor and get out."

Thanks. Great plan. Couldn't have come up with a better one myself.

The kid suddenly brightened up even more, looking like the friggen sun as an idea popped into his hat covered head. " We coul' take the elevator."

We all stared at him for a second, and I was the only one to open my mouth. I had the best insult planned, and the woman ruined it.

"Sweety, the building's on fire. I don't think the elevators will be working." She was bordering a humorous laugh, but just shot me an indignant look as I placed my hands on my hips.

"You interrupted me lady."

"I didn't hear you talking first." She lightly back-handed my upper arm, walking back to the older man who didn't feel like cutting in at any point. I looked back at the boy with a scowl, but he had that stupid, innocent, goofy, dumb look on his face that made me silently threaten to hit him. And I would have had that stupid laughing not cut into my train of thought.

The boy stopped and grew rigid. The man and woman both looked overly bewildered at the manic giggling that grew louder, making me want to shove my pistol into my ear. Again, in retrospect, that was stupid.

The woman let out a small squeal as a short little man burst past the hotel room door and came bouncing toward the large man. With an excited shriek the creature lunged, but the man moved out of the way, knocking his gun into the mutation's arm. It now went for the Hick behind me, and I suddenly found myself pushing the boy out of the way. My balance wavered and I fell backwards, narrowly missing the Freaks long arms as it made a frantic lunge for my shoulders.

"Holy Shit!" The woman exclaimed, firing her pistol but missing every shot. The infected man turned back to me, giggling hysterically as I quickly got to my feet. Before I could move a second time, the long arms wrapped around my arms in a frenzied excitement, leading me roughly towards the window.

"Shoot it!" The boy yelled, but no shots went off. The creature was yanked from shoulders and thrown across the hall. The big man gave me another look over, but finally the guns went off, forcing the creature back with each shot that landed in its chest. It finally fell limp, arms flailed and large jaw still open in a silent giggle.

I leaned over, hands on my knees as the scratches on my chest and shoulders finally registered. With a final inhale of breath, I straightened up, brushing off the boy as he tried to see what injuries I had gotten.

"You alright?" The large man asked, and I simply walked past him. He didn't seem overly concerned like the boy. It was just a scratch. I continued down the hall, seeing the elevator and almost considered what the Hick had said. I bumped my fist against it, hearing the hollow sound that vibrated through it like a Chinese gong.

"There's no elevator in here." I pointed out to the woman as she moved over to see what I was doing. "It must have been taken to a lower floor."

"I though' ya said we couldn' take the el'vator?" The boy asked, almost hurt. I just shrugged my shoulders and turned down the hall, seeing that most of it was cut off by the fire. No problem though, there was another door. The woman made a move to continue into the maintenance room, but was nearly blown back as the light fixture suddenly burst, blowing the wall in.

I simply walked past it, followed closely by the kid into the maintenance room. The loud growling of the flames made me stop just short of the window, and I peaked around the corner. Several Zombies staggered across the ledge that bordered the windows, but not seemed to notice me. The woman placed a hand on my lower arm in an attempt to see around me, and I pulled back at the contact. Lining up my pistol, I shot down three, the other two carelessly fell over the edge without so much as a small grunt.

The flames in the nearest room made me cringe back away from the heat. A few zombies turned to run at us, but were soon on fire as they paid no attention to how close they were to the flames. I sighed and stepped onto the ledge, trying to forget my fear of heights. The woman was still too close, nearly bumping into me when I stopped.

"Hey, wouldn' it be funny if this ledge crumbled?" The boy called as he stepped out, shrinking back again under my steely gaze.

"No, it would not be funny." I snapped, rolling my eyes and continued forward. I slammed my gun against the first window, shattering the glass. I stepped over the broken glass and let out a sigh of relief to be surrounded by four walls. The fire next in the other room was burning through the door that separated the two rooms. I moved to the front door and slowly opened it, peeking around it for any Zombies. The fire continued to burn to my left, and made my skin burn. I briskly walked down the hall, not paying any attention to the three people behind me. The woman complained but didn't do anything to slow me down. The man tried to catch up, but I would just go faster.

The door to the fire escape was left open, and quickly jumped them two at a time. The underside was also on fire, and had heated up the railing, burning my palm. With a small hiss I let go, jumping the last four as the man painfully walked down one-by-one. What had he said? He had a bad knee? I didn't know.

"Hey, Suit, slow down." The woman stood to wait for the other two as I already stood at the bottom door. "Your going to fast."

"Not my problem." But I still stood impatiently for a moment, returning the cold glare I got from the woman. When all three pairs of feet had made it to the bottom, I walked back out, shooting a few Zombies that turned around in surprise.

"You sure don't seem mind shooting them." The woman pointed out, the man and the boy just followed us quietly.

"Self-defense Sweetheart."

"Yeah, I hope so."

I didn't bother to search the rooms, I was to tired and I hated this fire. As I past the 70th Damn Door of the Day, I could just hear the flames beating against it, and I watched the boy closely to be sure he didn't open it.

The hall opened up into a lobby, the fire closed of the second hallway and burned bodies littered in front of it. I moved to the coffee table in the center of the room, a map spread across the top and had scribbled writing written across. New Orleans was circled several times over. Most of the eastern stated were cross out underneath a coffee stain. The boy moved to my side and smiled at me with that stupid grin. This time he didn't frown when I just walked away, he just followed.

Seeing the second elevator, I was nearly ready to beat my fist against it again, but the woman grabbed my arm and pulled me away.

"Would'ya stop grabbing me?" I pulled my arm out of her grasp and moved away, freezing when I heard what she was trying to warn me about. A deep gurgling echoed through the elevator door, and I was tempted to just shoot through the metal. The gurgling became a deep rumbling growl.

"What the hell?" The man pushed the button that opened the elevator and jumped back as an even fatter man waddled into the lobby. Boils covered his body as he rather slowly tried to get close enough to one of us, but we had all spread out in a wide circle. With a gurgled burp he lunged at the man, leaning his head back, and a green wall of vomit just barely missed the man's arm.

"The fuck is this thing!" The boy moved up behind it and shoved it away and down burning hall. The Infected's hand caught fire, and with a shriek it moved back out. The boy shot at it twice, careful to stay out range. The final shot hit the Zombie in the head, and the huge body suddenly exploded in a sheet of blood, flesh, and green goo. The boy was knocked back and nearly fell to the ground.

We all went silent for a minute or two, just staring at the lower half of the Infected that had gone still after rolling a few feet. With a shake of my head, I simply turned to the open elevator, and climbed in. I was about to press the down button before the others could get in, but I caught myself and waited. Once they all stood shoulder to shoulder, I pressed the button and the doors closed smoothly. The elevator music began to play, and I really wished I couldn't hear the tacky melody it played. I followed the wall and stood in the back as the man looked at me again, the same look on his face.

"Man, if that wasn' crazy, I don't know what is. All these Zombies and shit. Shit, shit, shit." That was the most I had heard the Hick say since the helicopter left.

"Calm down son. What's yer name?"

"Mah names Ellis. My friends call me 'El' but I prefer Ellis 'cuz 'El' sounds like a girls name."

"Names Rochelle, and you?"

"Mah friends call me Coach. I guess y'all can do the same."

They all looked back at me, expecting me to tell them like we were new buddies. I rolled my eyes and walked towards the door now that the floor number was nearing "L".

"Nick." I mumbled, and I was a little surprised Rochelle had heard it.

"Short for Nicholas?" She had a warm smile, clearly trying to get me to follow her.

"Yes, but don't call me that. It's Nick." Her smile faded somewhat at the harshness that entered my voice. I hated Nicholas. It was Nick, and Nick only. The elevator came to a rough stop, the ding signaled its stop. "Okay, well, this is gonna be loud."

Ellis chuckled and got to close to my shoulder. The kid was a good three inches shorter then me, but wasn't actually "short". Rochelle was short. Coach was taller then me.

For some reason the older man's height bothered me. So I made a point not to look at him.

I looked at the woman instead for the OK to open the door. Why was I getting her approval? I don't need these people. I'll open the door if I want. I turned away from her before she could do anything, and pried the doors open. The loud ringing made me shrink back quickly. Feeling mt ears ring painfully. The Coach moved past me and led the way, which I silently cursed under my breath. I wasn't going to be part of this group for long, I didn't need someone leading me like we were ducks in a line.

I sped up to get in front of him, when the loud roar suddenly made Ellis curse quiet loudly. The roar was nothing like the fire. It was made with a human throat. A few Infected came running from the flames, the thick smoke clouded my eyes, and struggled to see what was where. Seeing that the Zombies were coming from the same direction, I began to fire my pistol.

Most of them ran right into the fire, almost as if they thought they were invincible Pistols weren't my favorite weapon. They didn't have the power of a shot gun. But they bit through the Zombies anyway. With many burning and the others full of lead, I moved in front of Coach and struggled through the smoke filled building.

I squinted my eyes and found the path through, hell, what was this a kitchen? The stainless steal tables were nearly glowing orange from the heat of the surrounding flames, adding to the visibility problem. I made the mistake of getting to close, and my already burned hand bumped the damn table.

"Ah, shit!" I pulled my hand away and waved it in the air to cool the burn down. Which didn't really work since it was 108 degrees in here anyway. Rochelle moved to grab my wrist, asking me if I was okay.

"I'm fine. I told you not to touch me." She recoiled her hand and Coach looked about ready to defend her. But he could find no words and simply fell in line behind me. He could lead the other two, but I only needed myself to get through this. I didn't need this extra work. I navigated my way through another maze of heated tables as the flames seemed to close in. Ellis stayed close to my side and I made a point of making him work for the place. I walked even faster and walked back and forth. He seemed to catch on and fell in next to Coach. He stopped to search a fallen cabinet, and exclaimed happily that he had found something. I didn't know what it was but he seemed happy.

The flames finally stopped at the opening of another lobby. Ellis pulled the white object off his overalls and clicked the red button on the side. He stuck the fuse against the flames and ran ahead of me. With a well aimed throw, the white object sailed into the lobby. At least 40 Infected turned to look at the red light that blinked along with a shrill beeping. They chased it down as it bounced across the floor. The beeping became more rapid as the horde gathered around it an attempt to get a hold of it.

All three of us flinched back when the bomb exploded. The infected exploded into a cloud of blood and body parts. Ellis clapped his hands together approvingly and led the way to the red door.

Dammit, slow down.

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><p><strong>For now this is going to cover all of Dead Center, all the way to the Mall Atrium. I may do the rest of the game, but probably after I finish Of Tanks and Hunters. I did my best in keeping them in character.<strong>


	2. Streets

**A Spitter once spit acid at me while I was pouring the Cola into Whitaker's door thing, and the AIs started freaking and shot me instead of the Spitter. :l**

**Anyway, I think I may do The Passing. What do you guys think? Do you want me to do it all to the Parish or just finish with this?**

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><p>I rolled over, feeling the hard ground underneath me tighten my muscles. It was early. So early the sun had not yet come up. Coach was snoring somewhere over in the far corner. Rochelle had fallen asleep somewhere near him, since I had chosen my own corner and no one else was allowed in it.<p>

Ellis didn't think it pertained to him. He had wiggled a little closer in the night, only to be shoved away by my foot. When I had fallen asleep he had been at least six feet away. Now he was pushing two feet. I was ready to kick him away again.

I seemed to be the only one up. I had woken up damn near four times. The Zombies outside kept bumping into the walls and getting into fights with one another. So I tossed and turned, thinking about my plan. When we got out of this...town, I was ditching these people. I could fend for myself. These people would be fine without me.

Well, that depended on how well they could fight. They didn't look like much, but they had made it through that first day.

I rolled over again and stared at the wall. The yellow wall. It was an ugly yellow. Might as well have painted the wall with yellow snow. The carpet was no better. An ugly color that I could only guess was some sort of maroon. Maroon and Yellow.

Maroon, yellow, and a brown front desk with a white top.

I rolled over onto my back and stared at the white ceiling.

"Dammit."

I sat up, looking over at Ellis, who had scooted a little closer. Rochelle and Coach were sound asleep. I pushed the thin blanket away and quietly stood, trying to think of something to do. I pulled my gun from my waist and counted its bullets. There was enough. I pushed a few items over and sat on the long desk, legs stretched in front of me. I took the gun apart and splayed the pieces on my lap. I had just only gotten this pistol the day before, but there was nothing to do. So why not clean it?

Rochelle rolled over, untangling the blanket from around her arms. She propped herself up by her elbows. "What are you doing?" She whispered, careful not to wake the other two.

"Cleaning my gun."

She laid back down and watched me for a moment, but said nothing else. I could see the sky turning a light blue outside the door, and the color reminded me just how early it was. I suddenly found myself tired, and I put the gun back together and slid off the counter. I was aware of Rochelle turning her head to watch me. I pushed Ellis over a few feet and curled back up on the floor.

"Nick. Time tuh get up." A rough shaking nearly rolled me over. I grunted and brushed Ellis away. I took my time actually sitting up, and when I did Ellis plopped down like a 5 year trying to show his parents something 'important'. He looked ready to say something, and I knew that was bad. The kid had trouble being quiet. I simply stood and walked to the desk. Rochelle handed me an ammo clip, and threw a small smile at a frowning Ellis.

"Hey, I know a gun shop we can stop at. Wouln' hurt tuh look aroun'." Ellis said merely.

"Looks like living here is finally paying of Ellis." I jabbed.

"Mistah, I don't think I like yer attitude." Coach stated without even looking at me.

"Well thanks for realizing that was a joke." Ellis and Rochelle looked back and forth at the two of us. Finally Rochelle knocked on the metal door, bringing to my attention that it was a little late in the morning. Coach brushed past me stiffly, and I silently wondered what his problem was. It was just one joke. I didn't mean much by it.

Ellis seemed to sense that and stuck right to my side like a lost puppy. Coach walked out first, intent on staying in the lead.

Like hell.

I quickened my pace and got ahead of him before he even reached the barricaded parking lot. He 'hmmf 'ed and tried to catch up. Within two minutes we might as well have been speed walking. Rochelle ran behind and grabbed both of us, pulling us shoulder to shoulder.

"You walk together, dammit." Ellis chuckled loudly and led the way down the road, shooting the Zombies that turned to attack. Coach and I did as Rochelle said, and stayed somewhat next to the other, but I was really a few inches in front of him.

The road was blocked off and we turned into the building to the left. No more then storage, the room was pretty empty and dark. I led the way down the stairs, jumping two at a time without listening to Coach's protests.

"Hey, I ever tell ya 'bout the time my buddy Keith said he got picked up by little green men an'-" The Hick's voice carried through the room quiet loudly, and it made me wonder how many Zombies could hear us.

"Ellis, Be quite." I forced, looking back at him to make sure he got it. The bottom floor of the storage building was as empty as the top. The dim lighting set the "Post-apocalyptic" mood, and intensified the sounds of the Infected most likely outside.

Coach made the move to go ahead, but I cut him off and headed for the silver door first. The metal handle was cold to the touch under my hand, nearly the same temperature as the room. The door stuck to the frame and I nearly had to slam myself into it to get it open. Coach offered but I did it myself. The bright light made my eyes burn in shock. A bright glare covered my vision as I heard the first aggravated squeal and fast moving feet. Rochelle shot the Zombie before it even reached the short stairs that led to the road, falling just short of the over-hanging highway.

Coach had taken my momentary blindness as a chance to lead, and began to play my own way against me. I tried to get in front of him immediately, but he blocked my path. The highway created a shadow that gave me a brief brake from the Georgia heat, but the road soon opened back up into the sun, and I silently wondered how the to Georgians standing in front and behind me even lived here.

I climbed over the steel railing that lined the right side of the road, cutting off the pavement from the small patch of yellow grass and bushes that formed a messy circle. Coach took his time getting over, and I took the chance to lead. The small hill covered a group of Infected that I hadn't paid enough attention to see. One looked over at us, shrieking once it had looked long enough. The shriek alerted the rest, and I found myself falling behind Coach willingly.

My pistol was beginning to feel light in my hands as the bullets inside slowly depleted, and the one thing I feared was suddenly running out. A Zombies milky white eyes rolled back as three bullets lodged themselves in his chest.

A tall wall of concrete stretched above the road that was cut off both ways of the road, but fell away underneath the high way. Leaping over the second railing, I searched the length of the wall for a way over, and easily saw the green dumpster. With Ellis four inches away I began to climb, gripping the dirt that had filled up the green container. Once at the top, I stood and waited for Ellis to climb over as Rochelle and Coach waited for their turn.

A deep cough made me turn, but I quickly dismissed it when nothing appeared. I turned back, gripping Ellis' wrist to yank him up. I suddenly let go when the long, slimy object wrapped around my chest, pulling my arms down and yanking me off my feet. The rope like worm pulled hard against my chest and lifted me a few feet off the ground, directly underneath the Highway, suffocating me as I kicked helplessly in the air. A loud hack covered up my own painful gasp for air. Rochelle shouted my name as Coach's shotgun blasted behind me. The tongue suddenly loosened, and I fell the eight feet that I had been lifted.

Coach gripped my arm and lifted me to my feet as I struggled to breath through the thick cloud of smoke that had fallen over us. The marks the tongue had made were beginning to sting, the thick goo that had covered it felt oddly heavy.

With a hard pat on the back from Coach my lungs had cleared, half of the tongue hung over the edge of the over-hang like a limp noodle.

"And that is why ya don' go ahead." Coach pointed out accusingly.

"I wasn't going ahead. I just turned my back." Ellis handed me my pistol and kicked the green tongue away as if it would attack on its own. Coach then took the lead, and I easily stayed behind him, somewhat hoping something would grab him.

What happens to one must happen to the other.

The burn on my hand began to burn worse once I had tried to pull the tongue off, and the goo nearly ate through the bandage. The building across the road was eerily dark, and the stairs that led to the next floor echoed the sounds from above clearly to my ears. The one florescent light buzzed and flickered from days of excessive use.

The upstairs was no better then the downstairs. A dingy room with poor lighting. The piles of supplies caught me by surprise. I didn't think these things would just be laying around in an apocalypse. Grabbing the remaining ammo clips I slid past Rochelle and towards that open door. The side walk was blocked but the railing was broken at the end of the building. I didn't get past the door, once I saw the mass of Zombies that had all migrated into the blocked street.

"Afraid uh heights?" Ellis misunderstood my movement and walk out instead, not caring to look down.

"Ellis!" I hissed, trying to grab him, but when the Zombies saw him it was like a Bee attack. One screeched and the rest knew about us. Ellis stood frozen in the middle of the overhanging sidewalk, surprised and somewhat apologetic as he fast-walked back inside. "We should prob'ly close the door..."

"Moron!" I slapped the bill of his hat as the first few Zombies climbed over the worn railing. Coach's shotgun blasted through the first few, but as expected from a shotgun it was a bitch to reload. Pistols weren't much better, but it sure beat reloading a Shotgun. Ellis' hunting rifle made my head ring, but the wave of Zombies fell easily at our feet. Once the last had fallen fast first over the railing everything returned to the quiet way it had been. Ellis looked somewhat guilty but didn't apologize.

The railing was split away from the building down the sidewalk, and offered as a hold as I jumped onto the CEDA bus parked below. The metal echoed coldly as our weight bent the roof. We were a good seven feet off the ground, and my legs nearly buckled as I jumped down onto the hard concrete below. Coach clearly didn't want to follow. His bad knee certainly wouldn't let him. But he did it anyway without much complaining.

This whole town may as well of been a big bowl. If one side of the road wasn't blocked by a tall wall of concrete, it had a boring ass building. Ellis knew the area pretty well, so I assumed he lived somewhere nearby. Sure I had been in larger cities with buildings all around. But a rural ass area didn't need this many walls.

So I wasn't surprised when Ellis pointed to the stairs. Coach cursed behind Rochelle but braved the stairs. I walked around the building, seeing that there were more stairs that led upward inside the gray bricks. Coach cursed a little louder.

The pathway stretched in front of us at the top, fencing on either side. Ellis pointed out the gun shop sign beyond. We began to sprint, hearing how the growls and grunts began to grow louder. More stairs led to the street that was cut off both ways, but the gun shop was open.

The inside smelt like leather, but surprisingly most of the guns were still here. Grabbing the combat shotgun, I moved to the back of the store, stopping just short of the door. The intercom's light was blinking the kind of blink that meant you weren't supposed to push it.

But like always, someone pushed it.

The static rolled on for a few seconds, and I nearly reached for the door before the Georgian voice echoed harshly throughout the quiet store.

"Why 'ello there. I have barricaded my self on the roof with ample provisions. But in mah haste, I forgot Cola. You run down to the store across the street and bring it to me, and I'll clear the path to the mall."

"The mall?" Rochelle said more to us then the man, but he heard.

"The Military is supposed to be hol'ing up there."

Opening the door, I could tell that this was our only option. "So we get your shit, and you'll help us?"

"Hell, I'll even throw in the guns ya stole from me for free. Get goin' now! 'Fore I change my mind."

The intercom light flashed off, and I knew there would be no more discussing it. But if the Military was in the mall, we were going to do it. Once I had cleared the stairs, I could see the Food 4 Less across the street. Its doors closed.

"Woah, wait. We're gonna do this? What if he's lyin'?" Ellis smacked away the leaf of a plant that brushed into his face.

"Its that or we walk around."

Coach was beginning to limp as he descended the next flight of stairs that led to the road, and I wasn't sure about him making the run back. I looked at the hedge that separated the store from the gun shop. We would have to run all the way around and back up the stairs. The closed door would probably let off an alarm, so we would have to be fast.

"Hmm. Ellis come with me. Rochelle, stay here with Coach and keep the stairs open." They caught what I was saying, and Coach looked almost grateful.

The gasoline truck that blocked our path looked as if he would tip on its own if the breeze was strong enough. It was balancing on its left wheels already. I stared at the store's doors, seeing that the security camera inside was still blinking. The alarm was still set.

I pushed against the double doors, but they didn't budge. It took a strong kick to bust them open, and that set off the alarm in a shrill ring. The shelves were empty and bare, some knocked over. I looked frantically through the dimly lit store for the soda the Jack-ass wanted.

Seeing it on the floor in the back of the store, I jumped clear over the counter and grabbed it, yelling to Ellis to shoot a way outside. The Infected were rushing over the wall outside, and could barely decide which way to go. Over half turned our way, since Rochelle and Coach were hidden from most of their view.

The hedge made our run a little longer, and the only thing I could do with the 6-pack was stuff it under my arm and hope my aim was somewhat correct. Rochelle shot the Infected in front of me, giving me the chance to sling my gun over my shoulder and sprint for the slot in Whitaker's door. Zombies flooded through the door that we had first come through, and I had to drop the Cola and clear them out before I could slam the slot open and drop the 6-pack in.

Ellis yelled behind me, being the only person that had followed me back. A green puddle surrounded his feet and hissed like a hot pan under cold water. Ellis jumped behind it and looked for its owner, seeing the trail of glowing green liquid that trailed back into the shop. The goo stopped sizzling after a moment, and a black burned trail took its place.

The Infected were thinning, but another small wave was coming over the wall, and Whitaker and had yet to blow the truck blocking our path. A high pitched screech came from behind me, a hacking sound came from nothing I could see, the lights in the gun store being so dim. A brown object flew to my feet and burst, showering my feet in green acid.

The puddle stretched to far to jump, and I my feet slipped over the first step on the stairs. I fell to the bottom, trying to bring the feeling back to my limbs after tumbling down the concrete. The screech was louder, but passed right over me. Looking up with dazed eyes, I could see the green acid falling from a taller woman, but she had already rounded the corner towards Ellis, who yelled again.

The deep explosion drowned everyone out, and the few Infected that ran from the store paid me no attention since I didn't move to avert their eyes. Sliding on my back a little to the left, I closed the door. The dim lighting was gone and I was laying in darkness. Coach's shotgun stopped and it was quiet.

"Nick?" Ellis called looking down the stairs. "You alright?"

"Fantastic." I lifted myself to my knees, and used the stair railing to stand on my feet. My forearm burned from the bruise that was clearly forming. The truck had been blown completely in half. The gasoline tank had been blown, and the force had cracked the road.

Looking at the acid patch that had burned into the concrete, I cringed back at the ugly, long-necked Infected that was laying spread-eagle in our way, shot in mid run.

"Ugly thing kept spitting shit at us." Rochelle kicked it out of the way and skipped down the stairs where Coach was standing.

"Good Luck! Ya hear?" Whitaker shouted out from his wooden barricade.

"Thanks!" Ellis shouted back. The truck was still burning, the gasoline leaked into the broken road, and I imagined it blowing for a second time. The mall parking lot was empty. Since the Infected had already been alerted after the alarm. A CEDA health station was set up but abandoned, and a person in a has-mat suit was laying under a table in his own pool of blood.

"I swear to God, CEDA had better be in that mall!" Ellis retorted as we walked around to its entrance, the red door hanging open. I thought I heard another low, rumbling growl. But I had nearly been deafened by that alarm, so I knew I must have been hearing things.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh...mah...gawd...<strong>

**The paragraphs didn't fluck up again! :'D**

**I hate how even after that alarm and explosion, I walk into the parking lot and another horde is just standing there obliviouse.**


End file.
